Unlocking Potential

Supports and Strategies for Successful Living

I have been approved for funding support from Family Supports for Children with Disabilities (FSCD), and understand you provide these services. What are the steps involved in setting up services for my child?

1. Call our office and set up an appointment to meet with our intake coordinator.

2. A Service Plan will be developed based on the needs described, and could include Behavior, Speech and Language, and or Occupational Therapy services.

3. Services can be provided by Therapists consulting directly to parents/guardians or through a service delivery model that includes an in-home aide to help support caregivers with the goals for their child.

Where does KCC provide services?

Services are provided to Lethbridge and across Southern Alberta. We provide services in homes, schools and community settings. Individuals learn best in their natural environment and KCC is committed to provide support in those natural settings. KCC has been in operation since July 2008.

How are services funded?

Services are funded through Government Departments (Family Supports for Children with Disabilities, Persons with Developmental Disabilities, Southwest Alberta Family and Child Services), School Divisions, or individual private insurance. Individuals also pay on a fee for service basis as well.

Who will work with my family member?

Individuals are assessed to determine their unique needs and then a clinician(s) that is a best fit is assigned. An individual may have 1 to 4 clinicians providing support to the program. These clinicians include: a Behaviour Consultant, a Counsellor, an Occupational Therapist and/or a Speech-Language Pathologist. In addition, an in-home support worker(aide) may be assigned to work with parents/guardians and their child.

How will I be involved in my child’s programming?

Research shows that parents/caregivers involved in their child’s program make holistic gains more quickly than individuals without family support. It is a requirement that Parents must be involved in KCC sessions. A Caregiver must be present during all KCC programming.

Does KCC offer treatment groups?

We offer several group opportunities throughout the year, including the summer. They are created based on caseload need and target population (from preschool to youth populations). A variety of skills are addressed including socialization and building relationships, self-help, self-regulation, motor, sensory diet, life skills, and communication.

What type of treatment do you provide for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

KCC follows a comprehensive service delivery model that is evidence-based and adheres to established rehabilitative guidelines. Our service delivery model is a person-centered approach that emphasizes learning in natural daily living activities and across environments. KCC follows the philosophy of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for working with individuals who are on the Autism Spectrum. PRT is one of the 11 evidence-based practice guidelines for autism spectrum disorders by the National Autism Center.

Tell Me About Individual Play Therapy?

Play Therapy is beneficial for children experiencing emotional or behavioural difficulties in the home, school or community. It provides an opportunity for the child to ‘play out’ their feelings and problems. A child’s self-understanding is one of the goals in this approach. It can be used as the primary counselling approach with children, or in addition to other approaches seen to be most helpful to the child ages 3 and up.

What is EMDR?

EMDR stands forEye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing

EMDR is recognized as an effective therapy that helps desensitize symptoms of stress and past trauma.

It was developed in the US in 1989 by American psychologist, Francine Shapiro, and is now recognized by many regulatory bodies in the UK, Europe, South America and the Middle East including:

The World Health Organization (2013)

The American Psychiatric Association (2004 & 2009);

The US Department of Defense/Veterans Affairs (2004 & 2010), and

The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (2000 & 2008).

EMDR is regulated by the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA), which oversees the training, certification and consultation of EMDR therapists throughout the world.

First used with victims of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) with symptoms like flashbacks, phobias and panic attacks, EMDR is effective with all of these, as well as with anxiety, depression, over-reactive anger, intrusive thoughts, irritability, worrying, disturbed sleep, and so on.

EMDR essentially mobilizes the brain's own healing abilities.

When bad things happen, they happen first to the body, then the emotions kick in, and then the brain starts to reprocess them. You 'sleep on it', you think about it, you get support from friends & family, and after some time has passed, while you still remember the negative experience, you no longer feel upset about it. You can probably bring to mind some trauma in your life which you still remember clearly, but which you feel neutral about. You have peace with the memories. This is an example of the brain working the way it should.

Sometimes, however, the reprocessing gets stuck, and you don't have peace. This is where EMDR comes in; it desensitizes and reprocesses negative memories and issues. EMDR is an excellent way of releasing the pain from the past, to free up your resources for the present and future.

In EMDR therapy, you think about something that is upsetting to you - like a traumatic memory - and you follow the therapist's hand waving back and forth in front of your eyes, or alternately the same effects can be achieved working with a headset and alternating auditory tones for example.) This 'back-and-forth' or bilateral sensory stimulation reactivates the information processing system of the brain. The idea here is that trauma, or difficult issues, sometimes get stuck in the information processing system of the brain, along with their emotional or even physical content.

One of the most important tenets of EMDR is the idea that, as human beings, we are adaptable; that is, we move naturally towards healing. EMDR can be successfully used with adolescents and adults and the protocol may be adapted to use effectively with children as well.

One or two sessions are usually needed to assess the situation and make sure that EMDR is the appropriate treatment. It is difficult to say exactly how many sessions will be needed, as it depends on the type of trauma, and the client's previous experience. Many clients take 3 to 10 sessions of EMDR to clear the trauma, but it may also be used with other forms of 'talk therapy' and skill building strategies. For more complex problems, the therapy takes longer.

ABOUT THE EMDR SESSION

The therapist and client decide what will be the focus of the session. They determine the details of the disturbance - what was seen, felt, heard etc. - and what beliefs the client still holds about themselves related to this event. Then the desensitization is started using bilateral stimulation - either using eye movements, sound (back and forth between the ears), or alternate tapping on the back of the clients' hands. The client focuses on the event and notices what comes to mind. The trauma is reprocessed in the client's own unique way, based on their values and experiences. There is no right or wrong way for clients to do this. Eventually, the memory is less disturbing and the person comes to change the negative belief that they held about themselves. Throughout the session, strong emotions may come up, but at the end of the session, most people say they feel much less distressed.